Week 2: Proverbs 31:13-15 Do you plan and prepare for the day? Do you start the day with a quiet time with the Lord? Are you ready to meet the challenges of the day? Write a post about how you set aside time to plan and prepare for yourself and your family everyday. Whether it be meal planning, scheduling, grocery lists, chores, or what you do to make sure you have time for Bible study and prayer with God.

I missed out on the first week of this series as I just found out about it. Proverbs 31 for any of my readers who are not aware is a very strong scripture for women, moms, wives to guide their selves with. I must say that quiet time does not come very often in my busy frantic day and yes I do start off with a bit of quiet time with my Lord Jesus. During my quiet time I may do a number of things from read from a devotion book to simply sit there in thought thanking my Lord for all that he does in my life. The day is started the night before when I lay all out and plan my next day. A prayer to bless the morning is said even as I open my eyes in my bed. This prayer is both for thanksgiving for allowing me another day, another breath, another chance to live life as well as for a time to ask him to watch my steps of the day and guard me from those that could harm me.

Meals are planned prior to going shopping which is done on a every 2 week basis. This allows everyone in the house to know what the plan is as well as to be sure that everything for that meal is on hand. I live in a house with my husband and six teen age children and all of us can cook so we each take turns picking up the slack.


Do you take time to spend with the Lord do you have routines that are set up so that you have more time to fight the days challenges? I would love to know what you do as well.

http://lynishiskid.blogspot.com/search/label/A%20Woman%20of%20Noble%20Character

Fantasy Jewely Box review and giveaway

Do you ever fantasize about having enough money to dress up with diamonds, pearls and valuable stones? I do and while this is simply just a fantasy I have had a long time (since I was a little girl) to think about what I would wear and how grand I would look. As they say like a "million dollars" Well the wait to look grand and fashionable at great prices has come true. Fantasy Jewelry Box has beautiful jewelry like I dreamed of as a little girl but at prices I no longer have to dream about. The secret is that Fantasy Jewelry Box offers fine imitation diamonds & fashion jewelry at affordable prices. Take a look at a few of the great items available at Fantasy Jewelry Box.

The beauty in the Akia's Turquoise Stone Cascade Style Chandelier Earrings fascinates me. My favorite color is blue and I have always loved Turquoise jewelry. As many of you may know this precious stone can be very expensive and may not be affordable for many. These beauties offer the same effect as the precious stone but are affordable as well. Another great reason why you may choose to purchase imitation jewelry like that available at Fantasy Jewelry Box is because of a protective label if you want to dress up but will be working or playing hard accidents may occur and earrings are easy to be lost. The prices available at Fantasy Jewelry Box may help to soften that blow so that you feel that you can look great and still play and work hard.

Fascinated by jewelry that is visibly worn by stars? You can find their look alike at Fantasy Jewelry Box from rings to bracelets the style you are looking for can be found at Fantasy Jewelry Box I was awe inspired by this Terrina's Fancy Green Rhinestone Frog Bracelet The beauty of the stones may make you think that this beauty would come with a grand price but using imitation stones that are cut in a lovely pattern and offers the shine you are looking for the price is still quite affordable.

My father started my collection of vintage style broaches many years ago. The beauty of these broaches were admired by him and myself for many years and I must say that there are many beautiful broaches available at Fantasy Jewelry Box This beautiful Carysa's Heirloom Style Purple Crystal Cameo Brooch is one of my favorites from their grand collection. The broaches are affordable enough to start your own collection or share a collection with someone you love.  
 

This beauty was the one that i chose to review when Fantasy Jewelry Box approached me with an offer of hosting a review and giveaway. This beautiful Charity's Sterling Silver Cubic Zirconia Cross Necklace stood out to me. I can envision it being worn with a black turtle neck, over a cute tee or simply dressed up with a lovely sweater. For work or play this cross I am sure will stand out and be recognized. While I want nothing to happen to my beautiful necklace I feel secure enough in lending this beauty to my daughters as well. After all I love it when I have something that they admire and the truth is that it would be my honor to share with them and let others know about the beautiful collection at Fantasy Jewelry Box.

Buy: you can find lovely jewelry at Fantasy Jewelry Box

Win: The Fantasy Jewelry Box has offered to give one of Annies Home readers a chance to go shopping at Fantasy Jewelry Box as well. One lucky reader will receive a $25 gift card to shop at Fantasy Jewelry Box

Extra Entries:

• follow my blog (2 entries)
• subscribe to my blog via reader or email (2 entries each)
• follow Fantasy Jewelry Box on twitter (2 entries)
• follow my blog on twitter look on the sidebar for the link (2 entries)
• tweet about the giveaway (1 entry per tweet can tweet up to 3 times a day with at least 1 hour apart) (1 entry per tweet)
• like fantasy jewelry box on facebook and leave message that you entered the giveaway on Annies Home along with the name of your favorite piece of jewelry (3 entries ) you can share the giveaway on facebook daily for an extra entry leave link in comment
• blog about the giveaway or share on giveaway site and leave link

Giveaway starts now and ends March 5, 2011 Good Luck Email must be in comment or on blog profile or entries will not count.

• we want to thank Fantasy Jewelry Box for sending us the beautiful cross piece of jewelry for review. The thoughts and comments I shared in this post are those of mine alone

Weekend WrapUp

This week has been a fairly good one until yesterday when the flu hit home. This week I featured

Easy Lasagna Roll-Ups

gumdrop bread

coconut bark almond joy
This weeks sponsors and Giveaways are:

Little Pink Tools Giveaway win a tool set full of pink tools and tool pouch as shown

TeeWit the makers of great tees for every member of the family is offering one lucky winner a $20 gc in the giveaway here

Gorton's Seafood is back again to sponsor a giveaway where 5 (five) lucky winners will each get 2 (two) free coupons each.

Creativity for Kids a well known sponsor on Annies Home is sponsoring a fun giveaway where the prize is a art kit to make soap. This giveaway ends 2/22


so that is what I have been up to on my blog what have you all been doing have any great giveaways you want to share? What about a project you want to show off. Just leave a comment and I will be sure to stop by

Winner Alert

I have a new winner on the giveaway Kiss My Thistle Shortbread. The winner of this giveaway is Kitty

Cardero said...

I would like to try their A Touch of Lemon Shortbread.

The theme over at Funky Junk Interiors is bulletin boards so I thought I would share with you a few of my favorite family style bulletin boards What do you think do you have a bulletin board in your home? We do not at this time but we do have a family notebook where all is kept.

Cherry Suprise Cookies for Presidents Day

2 cups Basic Cookie Dough


36 to 40 chocolate stars or chocolate kisses

36 to 40 candied cherry halves

Drop cookie dough by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Top each with a chocolate star and wrap dough around it. Top each with a candied cherry half. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 36-40 cookies.



recipe source: Taste of Home
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http://iheartnaptime.blogspot.com/2011/02/sundae-scoop-w-sophisticated-scoop.html#more

Clover Cupcakes

Cupcake batter


Cupcake tins and liners

Aluminum foil

White frosting

Green food coloring

Toothpick

Green licorice (we used Twizzlers Rainbow Twists sold in a pack with other colors)

Place paper liners in 32 standard muffin cups, then fill each halfway with the batter. For each cupcake, roll three balls of foil (ours were 2/3 inch in diameter) and insert them evenly around the perimeter between the liner and the tin, as shown. Bake the cupcakes for a few minutes less than the package suggests (because there's less batter per cup than usual), or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool, then remove them from the tin. Cover each with green frosting (our ratio was 1 teaspoon of green food coloring to one 16-ounce can of white frosting). Use a toothpick to draw leaf veins, and insert a 2-inch-long piece of green licorice for a stem.

recipe source: family go

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Rainbow Jello Dessert

Check out this super cute rainbow jello dessert this would be perfect for St. Patricks day you can find the how tos and recipe for this dessert here

Its Coming Up Flowers

Recently while blog hopping I stumbled across these beautiful homemade flowers. To find out how they were created visit the blog One Happiness In Life


shared at
no rule blog hop

Top Hat Craft

Here's a fun craft for both Presidents day and one that would be great for St. Patricks Day. The stovepipe hat of Abe Lincoln and add a four leaf clover to make it perfect for that Irish day. To make this craft you will need

7" paper plate


2 sheets of black construction paper

1 sheet black felt (optional for hat band)

Scissors

White craft glue

Black acrylic paint

Paintbrush

Place paper plate right side up on the work surface. Paint with black paint and set aside to dry. Glue two sheets of black construction paper together. Line them up side by side; they should be lying horizontally with the long sides at the bottom. Allow to dry. This step is optional and is great for kids that are a little older, 6 and up. Cut two 2"-wide strips from the black felt. When the paper plate and the glue on the construction paper are both dry, roll the construction paper up so that the two ends touch each other. Roll up enough to where it fits in the top of the plate, leaving enough plate for the hat brim. Glue the rolled paper together to secure and hold for a few minutes until the glue grabs.
If you did step 3, continue here. If you skipped step 3, move on to step 6. Take one of your felt strips and glue it along the bottom circumference of your "hat" where the hat band would go. Take the other black felt strip and wrap it around the remaining uncovered part of the circumference. You will have excess felt and will need to trim off what you don’t need before gluing it in place. Once trimmed, go ahead and glue the remaining hat band in place. Place the hat "tube" on top of the plate. Pipe a generous line of glue around the bottom of the hat tube to secure the tube to the plate. Place about 10-15 sheets of construction paper on top of the hat tube to help give it some weight and allow the glue to grab. Allow the glue to dry about 45 minutes.
The hat is now ready to use as a table decoration! If you want to make this craft into a wearable hat, poke a hole in the middle of the paper plate and cut out an opening big enough to fit the crown of your child's head. You can also attach a thin piece of elastic to either side of the hat to create a chin strap.

resource: http://crafts.kaboose.com/paper-plate-abe-lincoln-hat.html

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Spring is on its way and with it is the need for a few new pieces of clothing that go along with the season. After all we want to look as fresh and well dressed as a spring breeze. Tea is a clothing place that can help us all get ready . At this time the blog Kiddies Corner Deals is hosting a giveaway where a lucky winner will get $50 gc to go shopping the Tea Collection. The giveaway ends March 4, 2011 

Saturday 9

1. Has anyone ever got angry with you for flirting with their partner or date?


not that I know of this is something that I try not to do but in our highschool years there was a lot of drama where this may of easily happened


2. What is your favorite movie line or speech? (Set the scene so we appreciate it in context.)


It would have to be a sappy movie like Fried Green Tomatoes when the girl leaves her husband to go with her friend but I must say seeing Patrick Swayze behind in Road House was an awesome time as well


3. What is something that has happened to you that you would consider a miracle?


my children being born and my grandchildren as well birth is a miracle that we are allowed how wonderful an event


4. What do you try to stay away from?



TROUBLE are the letters to the world that I try to avoid at all cost



5. What is it too late for?

Too late for my husband to give me a Valentines gift this year he messed that one up but good but I still love him


6. If you could write three newspaper headlines, which would come true, what would they be?


Oldest son graduates from University
Warm weather appears to be coming soon to Southern Illinois
Daughter arrives in town with two grandchildren along side


7. When was the last time you apologized to someone?

every day it seems as if "sorry " is always right on the tip of my tounge

8. If you to find out now that you would very well known after you die, what do you think it might be for? (Feel free to pick an accomplishment that you have yet to do.)

That each of my children end up graduating from college or university and end up leading good strong Christian valued life (this would be a legacy that I as a mother would love to happen)






9. Are you easily angered or able to handle every situation calmly?

I am not easy to anger but it does come and when it does you are better to hide you head in the dirt

Bucket Gardening Saves Money and Space

The warmer weather has me thinking about gardening a bit. While I have a rather nice yard and quite a bit of room for a nice size garden. This year though I have been thinking about doing some bucket gardening around the patio just to add some atmosphere and of course another great area to raise a few veggies that we use so much through the year. The Hunger Actionnys had some very useful ideas and I thought I would share it with you

STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL BUCKET GARDEN

1. Select a bucket that has not had any toxic material in it such as building/painting materials or cleaners/chemicals. Drill or nail several holes into the bottom of the bucket or put rocks in the
bottom few inches of the bucket to allow for drainage.
2. Fill your bucket with soil. If you are sure of the quality of the soil in your yard you can use that, but a good blended potting soil is rich in nutrients and will work better.
3. Select the plants you want in your bucket. Below are some planting tips for each plant type.

TOMATOES: Cherry, patio or bush varieties work the best. Place your tomato plant in the center of
the bucket and stake it. Drive a four foot pole several inches into the soil about 3” away from the
stem. Tie the plant loosely to the pole with some type of cloth. One tomato plant per bucket!!!

CUCUMBERS/MELONS/SQUASH: Plant the seeds or plants in the front of your bucket and train
them to grow over the side onto your porch, steps, deck or windowsill.

PEPPERS: Place these bush-like plants on either side of the tomato plant.

POLE BEANS: Plant seeds to the rear of the bucket and train the vines to grow up a string tied to the
edge of the bucket.

http://madamedeals.com/blog/2011/02/17/frugal-friday-blog-hop-3/

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The Flu Has Hit

So many that I know have been hit by the flu and I had been lucky until today when now all of a sudden I have a fever, chills, a cough and a headache. Yuck!!! So while there will be no real post today be ready when I feel better

I was the top slinger

Hey I was the top slinger on Food Fight Friday you can check it out here

I was featured on Full Plate Thursday

 I just wanted to share with you all that I have had a post of mine featured on Full Plate Thursday YEAH!!!

Every since I can remember OshKoshB'gosh  has stood for quality clothing for play, work and dress. Now with their basic collection for kids they are making their brand even more appealing. The blog Baby Loving Mama is hosting a giveaway where the winner will get a $100 OshKosh B’gosh gift card The giveaway ends 3/4/2011

Some of my Favorite Recipes

The theme over at the Ultimate Recipe Swap is "favorite" I decided I would share a few of my favorites as well. So here are three of them

meatloaf muffins

hashbrown casserole

dessert lasagna

Indian Pudding Day

Today is the national holiday to celebrate Indian Pudding. If you are not sure what Indian Pudding is you are not alone. The Nibble describes Indian Pudding as

What’s Indian pudding? It’s a baked pudding served hot or warm, made of cornmeal, milk, molasses and spices. It’s a richer, sweetened form of hasty pudding, a porridge of cornmeal cooked in milk or water. (Remember the song, Yankee Doodle: “Father and I went down to camp/Along with Captain Gooding/And there we saw the men and boys/as thick as hasty pudding.”)
The name Indian Pudding doesn’t imply that it’s a Native American (or Pacific Rim) recipe. The Plymouth Colony emigrants were accustomed to warm plum puddings, bread puddings and the like. But flour was scarce—no wheat grew in New England. However, corn grew; the native Wampanoags had plenty of cornmealSo “Indian” pudding was born, using cornmeal plus butter, eggs, milk, molasses and spices such as as cinnamon and ginger. The pudding was topped with heavy cream. None of these were Native American ingredients. The word “Indian” referred to the corn—hence Indian pudding, Indian bread (cornbread) and so forth.

2-½ tablespoons unsalted butter


3 cups milk

5 tablespoons yellow cornmeal

1/3 cup molasses

1/3 cup maple syrup

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

1 cup cold milk

2 pints premium vanilla ice cream,

whipped cream or light cream (half and half) for topping

Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease a 1-½ quart soufflé mold or baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter; set aside. Heat 3 cups of milk in a saucepan until it is close to boiling. Add the cornmeal and reduce heat to low. Stir until the mixture thickens (about 5 minutes). Remove from the heat and add the remaining butter, the molasses, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, salt and egg. Pour into buttered dish.
Place in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Pour the cold milk over the pudding and return to the oven. Cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes until the top is brown and crisp. Serve hot or warm with topping of choice.

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